Happy Sugar Life: Rebirth of Sugar
by RobbyA
Summary: Seven years Shio had been without her beloved Satou. Having to assist her older brother with the family finances by working at a cafe she did not care for, Shio, now 15 years old, found herself veering on the brink of total despair...if, not for a chance encounter.
1. Chapter 1

Shio smiled to herself when she returned home. Work was always tiring, but it was worth it. For when she opened the door, she was greeted by a bubbly, pink-haired girl who jumped into her arms.

"Shio-chan, welcome back!" she shouted.

Shio's cheeks blushed a deep shade of red at the sight of the young girl. "Hello, Mio-san!" She embraced her and broke it off to prepare dinner.

* * *

It had been 7 years since the events of the freak fire that destroyed the upper level of the apartment complex. Aside from two deaths, no one was badly injured. The incident still weighed heavily on Shio. She lost the love of her life, the very light of her world. She was more than willing to die with her that day and yet Satou shielded her with her body.

Satou always promised that they'd be together no matter the circumstance, yet she foolishly threw her life away. Or that's what she thought. If her sacrifice was a declaration of her undying love for her, she'd have to live with it. She never loved anyone else in keeping with her vow of preserving her happy sugar life with Satou in her heart.

Shio still had Asahi in her life. Somewhat, but she still saw him as a total stranger. She remained with him to help with the finances while their mother was incarcerated. She took a part-time job at a maid cafe. She was coming to an age where she was becoming a young woman and naturally, she was the restaurant's eye candy. Older men leered at her with perverted intention and oftentimes grabbing the hem of her skirt to flip upward to expose her panties. One day, a customer was bold enough to jam his hand into her top.

"Mmm…a B-cup. Not much, but let's see what you got packing down-!"

* * *

Shio slapped the customer across the face. Without much prompt, she stormed into the kitchen to compose herself. She bent herself over the sink.

"Bitter…bitter…."

She was feeling her blue eyes glaze over when the door opened. It was another girl. She wore the same attire Shio was. She had long, brown hair, green eyes, and a mole.

"Are you okay Shio?"

Shio breathed out. "Thanks for coming to check on me, Sakura."

Sakura walked over and touched her shoulder. Her cheeks began to redden from the softness of Shio's shoulder. She stopped when she noticed that Shio was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Anyway, I did speak to the manager and she made sure to throw that man out. But she did also say you were free to leave early if you were still shaken."

Shio nodded. She walked out of the kitchen to clock herself out. The customers gave her a mixed glare of disgust and fear clearly not wanting to get on her bad side. Sakura waved goodbye to her, but Shio didn't reciprocate it.

Shio trudged down the street with a dreadful look of despair. "Bitter…_bitter_…."

* * *

Her experience with the hellion left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was funny how fate worked: Satou always got sugar from her through their kisses and now, no one was there to give Shio the same. She raised her eyes to the sky.

"Dammit, Satou, why did you have to go and leave me all alone!?"

Ugly tears drizzled down her cheeks nearly blinding her. It hurt her grievously, but it was the only consolation she could depend on. She was on the verge of collapse when something caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

A good distance away, there was a young girl wearing the mandatory outfit all elementary school students had to wear. Her pink hair was lightly tucked away under her hat. She turned around with tears rolling down her face. This made her red eyes twinkle.

"It…it can't be. Can it?"

Satou's cheeks blushed a deep red as her eyes widened. Now she was convinced she knew just why Satou did that all those years ago. A warm smile spread across her face.

"Hello, happy sugar life."


	2. Reunited (And It Feels So Good)

It was a moment of weakness, really. But whatever the case, Shio had snatched up the girl she saw on the street and taken her home. It was relatively easy to acquire the young girl by first drying her tears and offering her a place to stay until she felt better. The girl apparently saw nothing amiss about it and agreed to follow her. The pink-haired girl sat down at a table wordlessly. Shio's mind was overflowing with thoughts. She could not believe it: after all these years, she finally had her beloved Satou reunited with her in some capacity. Thinking back on it, Satou did promise her that she would always be by her side, even if it meant that she was reborn.

Shio felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest. Her stomach fluttered. She must not immediately confront the girl to ask her if she were in fact her deceased "lover," out of fear that would creep her out. Shio took a deep breath to settle her breathing and walked into the kitchen to procure a teapot. She then took out two cups and poured the hot liquid into both. Returning to the girl, Shio gave the girl one of the cups which she accepted. Shio sat down and partakes in drinking the tea.

"What is your name?" Shio asked.

The girl did not immediately speak at first. Previously she had been shaken by whatever happened earlier that day. Shio could tell by the look in her red eyes. While she wanted to know, Shio respected the girl's decision of not disclosing the information if it unsettled her greatly.

"My…my name is Mio," the girl replied. Her response came out in a hollowed tone that was pained.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mio, my name is Shio," she said. Good, she thought. She was able to say something to the girl, a small, rather mundane question naturally, but it was good that she was now starting to break the ice with her.

* * *

The two drank some of a tea oftentimes passing glances at each other if expecting for the other person to say something next. "So, I take it that you came out of school earlier?"

Mio nodded. "Yes, lady."

"Why were you walking all alone?" Shio asked. "Do you have any friends?"

Mio shook her head without having to say anything. Shio tilted her cup. She could understand completely; aside from Sakura, she did not have anyone who she would qualify as a "friend." It was always her and Satou after all. She did not have the need to have anyone else or to make relationships with others. Satou was all that she needed. Not her family. Not her brother. Even Sakura she mostly kept around because she did give her some amusement.

"Does anyone bully you?" Shio asked again. It was rather invasive of her to ask her such questions, she would be likely to admit.

"They call me weird and an alien," Mio answered in a depressed tone.

"Oh, do they?" Shio replied in a rhetorical manner. "What about at home?"

"My Mom is dead."

"I…I'm sorry to hear that," Shio said.

A mother. Shio's mother was very much still alive, but she was incarcerated in prison due to her murder of her husband. Shio still felt a tinge of contempt for her mother. Even if she had very good reason to give her away, it still brought her waves of pain. How could she throw her out like disposable trash? Asahi always made it his business to visit their mother in prison, but she never considered doing so. It was too many memories. Too much for her to bear. But if anything, the only positive thing that Shio could accredit to her is that had she not abandoned her, she never would have met Satou. Even then, that was mostly just insignificant to genuinely consider.

"My Dad hates me." Mio answered.

"Hates you?" Shio inquired. "Who can possibly hate someone like you?"

"He…beats me. He drinks some weird juice and whenever that happens, he becomes someone different. A monster!"

Another abusive patriarch. That was also something that Shio knew very well. That was part of the reason as to why she blocked that part of her life out of her mind. It was something in the past that warranted no remembering or reliving. Shio's grip tightened on her cup.

"I see. I am so sorry to hear you living with someone that cruel."

* * *

The two got finished drinking their cups and Shio collected the two cups and placed them in the kitchen sink. She then grabbed a bottle of dish soap and squirted the liquid into the sink. She filled it with water and began to wash the cups as well as any other dishes inside of it. Mio got up from her chair and started wondering around the room looking at pictures on the wall.

"You should really be going now, Mio," Shio responded. Not that she wanted her to leave, but it would elicit Mio into striking up a conversation with her again. Though she sensed from Mio's aimless walking that she had no intentions of heading home.

"Can I stay here for the night?" Mio asked. "I cannot face my Dad like this. He'd beat me again!"

Shio decided to play along already thinking about the majority of the conversation in her mind and letting it marinate. "Mio, you know that I cannot allow for that; what will your father think if his precious girl did not return home?"

Tears started to run down Mio's eyes again. "Please, Shio, I want to stay here!"

Shio crossed her arms and closed her eyes to concentrate. Mio was like a fish shimmering its way through the murky waters to snag the bait on the end of a fishing hook. Shio herself was the skillful fisherman padding her along until she had her right where she wanted her. A little more probing, and she'd have her within her grasp.

"Well, I am thinking about it, but I'm sure that there are at least some good things about your father? He had you after all, so at least that is something worth thinking about."

Mio vehemently shook her head. "My Dad always turns into a monster when he drinks that odd juice. What if he hurts me? Badly?"

Shio could not help but shiver at that implication. She nodded her head concluding that it was enough probing her with questions. She smiled warmly in reassurance. But at the same time, she tried to deny that her smile was stretching across her face from ear to ear. She decided to act like she could care less about it.

"Well, I guess you can stay with me," Shio said, "but just for tonight."

* * *

Mio smiled and dashed towards Shio to hug her in gratitude. Shio admitted ever so slightly as it crossed her mind that she enjoyed the hug. Not in a way that was lustful, but more so because it had been a long time that she had been embraced by someone who was not her beloved Satou. Holding tight to Mio invoked the same sensations she felt all those years ago. Give it time, and Shio would further indulge in Mio's sugar for as long as she desired.

But it also crossed her that her older brother Asahi would be coming home soon from working his dead-end job. When he came home, he would surely lose composure from and snap at her for doing what Satou had done and snatching this child when no one was looking. While she may have not felt love for her brother, she did allow him to play a small part in her life, but she feared that he would come in the way of her happy sugar life. With Mio not noticing Shio's smile disappear and her eyes becoming paler, Shio contemplated her course of action.

She had to get rid of Asahi. It was the only way.


	3. Dutiful Brother

"Look alive, Asahi!" a voice shouted.

Bags were underneath Asahi's eyes. The young man had gone so long without proper sleep. Asahi closed his eyes momentarily almost not hearing what he was being told. He jolts awake o see a large object ricocheting in his direction. Thinking quickly, Asahi held out both of his hands and raised them in the air. The object immediately came to a halt. Asahi opened his eyes to see that it was a frozen tuna. Asahi sighs, presumably out of disappointment. He then placed it in a crate along with the other frozen tunas.

A chubby, burlap man with balding hair and a thick moustache walked up to the young man. "You're falling a bit shorter today, Asahi."

Ever since that incident, Asahi had been working at a fish market. It filled him with dread every day. The fish sometimes easily decayed and had rancid smells to them. Since the market was close to the docks, seagulls were regular "customers" oftentimes eating pieces of the fish and other seafood. It costed a good bit of Asahi's salary, but at the least he was able to make enough to provide for himself and Shio. Through hard work and their extended family chipping in, Asahi was able to acquire a home with his sister with the rent not being too challenging.

"I'm just not really finding enough time to sleep," Asahi lamented.

The fat man rubbed Asahi's shoulder. "I know that it's hard what with your mother being in prison and you being forced to live on your own with your baby sister."

Asahi nodded without saying anything to defend himself. He hated to admit it, but his boss was right: he needs to get his act together. Shio depended on him he thought to himself. He used that as a daily mantra to get him through the day. There was not anything that he would not do for his beloved baby sister, his "moon."

"But I need you to focus," his boss replied, "do you understand where I am implicating?"

"Yes, sir, I understand fully."

Asahi resumed his work and tentatively kept watch when a frozen fish was tossed in his direction. It was a typical 6-hour thankless duty, but Asahi was determined to persevere. After all, he had something special planned once he left the fish market.

* * *

Shio placed Mio in her bedroom to keep her occupied while she was orchestrating her scheme. Her room was not much to really write home about. It was a simplistic bed, a tannish one with matching pillowcases. The wallpaper was a dim yellow. Mio looked around the room somewhat desensitized.

"I know it is not the best," Shio admitted, "but with the budget we have, this was the most we could afford."

Mio skimmed the room a few more times. She turned to Shio with a warm smile. "I don't care if it's bad as long as you are there."

Shio's cheeks turned red. Those words. Those were the exact same words that she herself said to Satou all those years ago. It was eerie how much Mio reminded her of herself 7 years ago. Shio pat her head. "You just wait right here, and I will prepare a meal for the two of us."

As Shio was the one who did all the cooking for her and Asahi, she decided that for tonight, she would make curry. She gathered the ingredients for the curry and began to chop the vegetables. Her mind began to wander as she turned on an eye on the stove. Her heart was taking a nosedive. "I wonder if I prepared the curry in a way Satou used to if that would jolt her memories."

The two had so much catching up to do. Shio thought back to when prior to Satou's Aunt instigating the fire that destroyed the upper room of the apartment that they were going to travel the world together. She looked around the kitchen almost as if to sense if anyone was looking. With the coast clear, Shio knelt and pulled open one of the drawers underneath the counter. She sighed in relief: the "wedding" rings were still there. Shio kept hers close to her heart as it represented her "happy sugar life." Along with Satou's ribbon, the ring was the only salvageable part of Satou after she collided with the pavement when she jumped off with Shio. It may not fit Satou anymore now that she was reborn.

* * *

With the pot steaming, Shio's eyes darted to the clock. It was just about time for her older brother to return home after riding on the city bus. She had to act quickly. After the curry was made, Shio drew a small pack of tea and placed it into a teapot. Returning to the sink, Shio turned the knob and filled the teapot with cold water. She then placed the teapot on another eye on the stove she activated and waited for it to boil. Whilst waiting, Shio bent on the ground again and opened a cabinet. She wrapped her fingers around a cylinder bottle.

The tea and curry were ready. Shio prepared the table and placed the dishes on the table. She then poured some of the tea into two cups. On the far end of the table was where Asahi typically sat. She took the strange bottle and unscrewed the top. It had a grody smell to it. Tipping the bottle, she cautiously poured it into the cup. With nearly the entire bottle emptied, Shio quickly tossed it in the trash and tied the garbage bag.

"I hate to do this, but at least it should not be too life-threatening" Shio said to herself.

Asahi arrived at the front door smiling slightly. That day he had just received his check. He made more for the week, which was always a delight to hear. He placed the paycheck into his pocket and scrambled to get his keys to the front door. Before he could, the door opened.

"Shio?" Asahi said. "What is going on here?"

"I am just opening the door for my older brother," Shio answered.

"I know, but we hardly ever interact much ever since that whole scene with that pink-haired girl," he pointed out.

Shio's eye twitched slightly. She did understand to an extent that he did not understand her relationship with Satou, but to dismissively demean her as just a "pink-haired girl" enraged her. "Come in, Asahi, you must be exhausted."

Asahi removed his shoes and place them beside the front door. He could not help but notice that Shio was acting stranger than usual, but he could not put his finger on it. He sat down at his side of the table like Shio anticipated. "So, curry tonight?"

Shio smiled. "You are correct. I hope you like it."

Asahi put his hands together. "Thank you for the meal." With that, he started eating. Shio sat down at her end of the table and began eating. As expected, Asahi reached out to grab his cup.

"I spoke with mother today."

Shio raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you have?"

Asahi nodded. "She's saying that the wardens are treating her well. She said that she had no regrets."

Shio tapped her fingers on the table. She did not want to think about her mother any more than she had to. Asahi took the first sip of his tea while he was still conversing. "You know that she loves you, Shio?"

Shio forced a broken smile on her face. "I know, Asahi. I just wish I had fonder memories of her."

Asahi drank some more of the tea. "Strange taste."

Shio was about to say something in response, but Asahi suddenly stood up. "Oh my, Asahi, what is the matter?"

Asahi grabbed his stomach. His cheeks were swelling and turning green. He tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but thick, green vomit erupted from his mouth. He looked at Shio for assistance, only to see that Shio's blue eyes became paler. Asahi collapsed on the ground with more of the thick throw up ejecting from his mouth. His insides were on fire.

"S-Shio…"

* * *

Asahi collapsed with a thud. Shio walked over and knelt to him. She lightly tapped his wrist. "Good, that should leave him unconscious for a while."

Shio ran upstairs to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She ran some water into the sink and rinsed her face off by taking handfuls of the water. Her heart was racing again, this time with some guilt sinking into her decision. She took a deep breath and excelled. "Oh, I am happy that you have come! My brother suddenly got sick and he fell unconscious. Please tell me that he will be okay!" She said this to herself a few more times until she mastered it. After repeating the line four times, she dialed 9-1-1.

The ambulance was called in a few minutes later. Asahi was very much still alive, but whatever he had ingested was making him projectile vomit. One of the medics went to relay what they had learned from the situation.

"Ms. Kobe, I assume?" he said.

"Yes," Shio answered, "please tell me my brother will be okay!"

He slipped out a clipboard. "Says here that he ingested a half glass of Syrup of ipecac."

Shio's eyes widened. "Oh no…that sounds terrible!"

The medic tilted his head. "Do you know how it got into his system? It has been discontinued for a reason."

"No officer, I have no idea how he got a hold of it." She bowed her head. "Forgive me for my incompetence."

He nodded. He explained that Asahi would be staying overnight to get his stomach pumped. Give or take, he would likely be down for a good week or so out of fear of sending him home too quickly.

Tears began to form from her eye ducts. She shielded her face with her hands refusing to look at Asahi being wheeled out. Her breathing got quicker and pained. The medics looked at each other with sympathy. "You can visit him anytime of the week," the first medic said.

The door slammed shut as Asahi was loaded in the back of the ambulance truck. Shio's sobbing quickly ceased. She slid her hands off her face, a Cheshire grin was spread at the tips of her mouth.


End file.
